Breaking the Auld Alliance
by Mistress of Time and Echoes
Summary: Scotland and Fem!France are forced to divorce, after years of happiness. They don't want it but, it's inevitable. Scotland x Fem!France story of sorts.
1. Breaking

Her heels clicked against the floors, as they slowly made their way to the meeting room. This was it, the day they broke the alliance that had lasted so long. It hurt her, in a physical way as well as emotional. This alliance had been a marriage between the two countries , and she didn't want this to happen.

This she I am referring to, is none other than France. Otherwise known as Francoise Bonnefoy, and she loved the country of Scotland. Well, she also loved the scenery, but mostly the personification of the country. Ian Kirkland. From the way his red hair fell over his face, how he usually had a cigar with him. Most of all she loved his laugh, it was just so happy and boisterous, she would miss hearing it.

They'd known each other most of her long life, and she'd grown to love him. It wasn't just a sudden decision to love him, she wasn't even aware she loved him in that manner until a certain point in their marriage. There was something about sharing a house in the summers, and being married, that made you fall in love.

Her gloved hand gripped onto her presidents arm, showing her displeasure with this situation. They hadn't even entered the room but she felt like bursting into tears, or slapping him.. Because this was all his idea, and he hadn't even thought of the country. After how many marriages she'd already been forced to break, and how many scars she had from fighting for them, they couldn't even consider her in this.

"It's no longer needed" he'd said, but she'd argued. She'd thrown a fit, when she was safe within her own home. Things had flown into walls, and tears of anger and sadness had flowed for what seemed like hours. When Ian came home he was shocked at what he saw, and a worried frown had taken place on his face. "What's wrong, love?" he'd questioned, wrapping his arms around her tired frame. Carefully, he inched her onto the couch and pulled her into his lap.

"...They're breaking the Alliance..." she whispered, her voice cracking halfway through it. Her arms wrapped around his neck loosely as she rested her forehead against his. Pain was clear in her expression as she locked her eyes against his. He was clearly shocked by this, but he didn't know how to react. Seeing how distressed she was, he knew he couldn't let her see him upset. This did hurt, but he couldn't just break down, even though he wanted to.

"Francoise, please don't cry," he murmured to her, seeing tears starting to well in her eyes again. Gently he started rubbing her back in a circular motion. Ian reached up, pressing a kiss to her cheek before wiping a trail of tears off her face. "We'll find a way out of this, I promise"

That was the first promise they'd ever failed to keep. It was also one of the only ones she really cared about. Thinking back on this, tears welled in her eyes as she dug her nails into the presidents arm. In a way, this hurt her as well as him. Seeing as he was such a big part of her country, of course it would physically hurt her.

Ian was already sitting in the office, wearing his usual uniform. It was painful, knowing this was the last time he'd be able to see her as his own wife. The last time he could think about holding her in his arms, the things they do at night, and how her hair falls perfectly, without wanting to run to her. Why did they have to be included in this? This alliance breaking was the worse thing that had ever happened to him.

Even being forced to become part of the United Kingdom didn't hurt this much. Being beaten by his younger brother, hadn't hurt this much. Because throughout all of those things, shed been there. Sure she hadn't been his lover at this point, in fact he was almost positive she saw him as a brother, but she'd been there. Holding him when he felt like falling apart, and listening to him rant for ages.

But shortly after the alliance was formed, he could see the shift in their behavior. She'd always been affectionate, hugging him and kissing his cheek. Slowly though, she shifted to actually kissing him, and he enjoyed it. They started sharing a bed on visits, and cuddled against each other in their sleep.

It had taken awhile, but they'd grown to love each other. Well, they always loved each other, just not in this way. The first time they were actually together, physically, was almost magical. That was all ending now though, as soon as they signed the papers that stated they were over. His hands clenched and unclenched under the table, and he wanted to just grab her as soon as she arrived and run. Just, run. As long as they were together he was sure she wouldn't care. But they had responsibilities as countries, and they couldn't do it.

His green eyes locked onto her the second she walked through the door. It had been so long since he'd seen her in this outfit, the one she wore for business. Her skirt was long and pink, but the dark blue military jacket offset this quite a bit. "Hello, love." he voiced, standing up and holding his hand out to her.

Screw the rules, she was still his wife until they signed the papers, and he would treat her as such. Carefully, she took his hand, and he pulled her close. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and ignored the disproving looks he was getting from the two country leaders.

Her arms wrapped around him and she caught on to what he was doing, he wanted to spend the last bit of their marriage like the rest of it. Happy, and loving. Francoise pressed her lips to his, deciding this idea was the best. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she ignored them clearing their throats, trying to ignore the two countries.

When they parted, she buried her face into his blue jacket, not quite sure if she liked the smell of gun smoke that clung to it. With a slight hum, he rubbed her back and sat down again. He took her hand and pulled her into his lap, and she continued to try and ignore the stares.

"Can we get back to business, Francoise?" her president questioned, sitting on the other side of the table with a disproving stare. A frown was situated on his face as he looked over at her, acting like a child instead of the adult she was supposed to be.

"Oui, I don't see why not, but I will be sitting here." she stated, her voice cool and smooth as she smiled icily over at him. This was her right, and she loved her spot. Nodding slightly, the two leaders started conversing, filling out their necessary paperwork.

The entire time she held Ians' hand tightly, not wanting to let go. Just the fact that she could be with him now, well, it made sure she wasn't about to break down into tears. The paper was pushed towards her, a long with the pen. Standing up, she shook her head before carefully taking the pen. She signed her countries name on the dotted line, with a flourish of her pen.

Ian did the same, although his writing was different than hers considerably. This was it, they weren't a couple anymore. All of those nights they'd spent together, were for nothing. "At least we'll have the memories, right Francoise?" he asked, trying to grin up at her when he was pulling into a standing position.

"Right, the memories." She answered, gripping onto her presidents arm yet again. Internally she was throwing another fit, all she wanted to do was scream and cry and beg him not to leave her, but then she would be the weak one. And now that she was on her own, she couldn't do it.

Ian turned around, and walked out of the room. A pained expression rested on his face as he left the room, leaving her for the last time. Once he was gone, a dry sob left her throat and she covered her eyes.

Silently sobbing as they made their way back to the vehicle.

Regret and sadness, were the only things she felt.


	2. Worry

_"You have 27 new messages."_

A small groan left the Frenchwomans lips, as she leaned her head back again st the chair in her office. It had only been a week since the divorce, and she hadn't been feeling too well. So she'd avoided answering the phone. she hoped she didn't worry anyone too much, all she'd wanted was a little time to herself. To sort through her emotions, try to find a way to push them aside.

Her violet eyes were locked onto the answering machine as she toyed with the idea of listening to the messages, well, she supposed it couldn't hurt. She also need to know who to call and assure that she was fine, although she really wasn't, they didn't need to worry about her. Or at least she didn't want them to. A world filled with worry would just make everything so different, and it would be a pain to deal with.

With a resigned sigh, she pressed play and placed her head on the desk. Twenty seven messages, this would take quite some time. The first one had been from Matthew, asking if she was alright. Maddeline's quiet voice was in the background, asking if she had answered the phone. She noted their genuinely worried tone and felt a pang of guilt, having not gotten back to them sooner. He was a sweet boy, and she was quite glad for that fact. It meant she'd done her job right.

The second one was from Amelia, another worried child she'd have to deal with. Although in the background she heard Alfred yelling something about 'pick up the phone women!'. Francoise cursed herself for having not thought of her family. Of course they'd have heard about the divorce, it was all over the news. That thought made her frown, seeing as she cared for her family very much. Their life was just as important as her own life, perhaps even more so.

_"Ciao big sister France, ve. Are you alright? Lovi and I heard about the divorce and we'a just wanted to make sure you were alright!"_ This made her raise an eyebrow, as she heard quarreling over the phone along with Lovino yelling about how he wasn't worried but Spain was and it worried him in the background. Of course, that was his usual excuse for these sorts of things. Her heart twinged as she wrote down the names of everyone so far.

After that message timed out, she rolled her eyes at the next one. Sure enough it was Lovino, her petite frere, inquiring about her current state. She could tell by his voice that he was trying to sound impartial to her troubles, but his bottom lip was probably quivering. A small sigh left her lips as she rubbed her temples, cursing herself for not calling him sooner as that image situated itself in her brain.

Great, so far she was only four messages in and she'd worried at least half of her family. A least six younger countries worried about her, when she knew they had their own troubles. While yes, she did miss Ian since the divorce, she couldn't talk to him. So she wouldn't be alright. But she would have to act like she was, for the sake of her family.

The next message was from Antonio and Gilbert, why they were calling from the same phone she had no clue. But their usually bright and cheerful tones were laced with worry as they were trying to coax her out to go drinking. Julchens' voice rang in the background as well, and the next message was from her and Isabelle. Clearly something had happened to make them all get together like this, it was odd to hear the siblings' right after one another.

As she listen to each one, she tried to script out what she'd say to them each. Clearly they'd need to be called one by one, due to circumstances. Each message had hints of worry written through their words, and she cursed herself, tallying up the calls. It seemed she'd received five from Antonio, including the one with Gilbert. Two from Gilbert on his own, which seemed worried. Four from Julchen and Isabelle, always together. She wondered what was going on there. Matthew and Maddeline called thrice more, alternating between who spoke. Amelia and Alfred called twice again, and Lovino had called twice overall. On his own of course. Francis has left two or three messages, knowing him she should be expecting a letter soon enough. The two calls that surprised her though, were from Roderich, and one from Monica.

Strange, how she'd worried everyone so much. Really she'd just wanted a small break, time to organize her thoughts. She hadn't dreamed that so many people would be impacted. Yet, she couldn't regret how she'd spent her week. It had given her time to think about how her time with the Scotsman had been, and to think of a loophole. As she fiddled with the ring on her finger (For she insisted upon wearing it, despite the divorce) she wished she'd managed to find one.

Loopholes were usually simple for her to find, it was eerily simply for her to get out of any situation she didn't like. But now that she actually wanted one, yearned for it, it alluded her. She knew there had to be one, every contract had one. An incorrect word, a slip of the pen. Plus she had the original marriage and divorce paperwork, that should've made her job so much easier. Instead it just complicated things.

From all the time she'd been trying to relax, think about him, and find loopholes, she was beginning to get a headaches. Of course those were only minimal compared to the heaviness in her heart, and the guilt she was feeling after listening to the messages.

Her doorbell rang, and she blinked slightly in surprise. Rising from the chair, she tightened her housecoat around her and walked over to the door. Her hand twitched towards the doorknob, but it hesitated slightly. What if it was someone she didn't want to see? She hadn't prepared for the day properly yet, her damp hair was falling to frame her face nicely, but she still didn't want to be seen.

A frown furrowed itself into her brows as she looked through the peephole, it was someone she didn't recognize. He seemed to have a mail carriers bag on his shoulder. Oh, it must've been a letter from Francis. As she'd predicted, he most likely decided to send a letter after she ignored his long rants in french through the phone.

She unlatched the door, looking down at him. "Bonjour?" she asked, feigning ignorance. He seemed to be a little confused at her current state, and he held out the clipboard. "I have a package and a letter for you Ma'am." A package? What could it possible be. Clearly puzzled, she reached out and signed the clipboard. The boy passed her the letter and package before leaving.

The writing on the letter was clearly Francis's, and so was the writing on the package. She took them back to the study and placed them next to the answering machine. Now which to open first, this was always a problem for her to decide, seeing as she was naturally a rather curious person. After a minute or two she simply took the letter, grabbed her engraved letter open, and carefully cut it open.

The letter didn't contain much, simply about how he was sorry but she was worrying everyone. There was something about a meeting as well. It was tomorrow, so she'd try and make it. Hopefully she managed to remember. Now then, the package. Her violet eyes trailed over there,, and she made a small noise of thought.

It was fairly small, so she had no clue what might be in it. Carefully she used her letter opener once more to look inside. ears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the contents, and quickly wiped the tears away. There was no use crying. Delicately, she took the small golden band in her hand, and looked at the rose scented perfume.

An apology, and his sympathy. The ring was from his last marriage, she recognized it because he was the one who was married to the country. They were still married, but he thought she might need it more. Placing it and the perfume in her desk drawer, she turned her attention back towards the answering machine.

With a slight sigh, she pressed play yet again to listen to the Austrian mans message once more, as much as she enjoyed his company she found it odd that he'd called her. Everyone else who had called she was either close too, or family of some sort. She mulled this over in her mind as she listened to his message once more, trying to figure it out.

Clear as day, his voice rang out._ "Guten Tag, Francoise. I'm sorry to hear about your recent divorce, perhaps I could treat you to lunch on July Twenty First? I think I may know something you'd like to hear."_

_**.:~Authors Note~:.**_

_**Thank you so much for the reviews everyone! I hadn't originally intended on making this into a story, but I realized where I could take it after awhile. It will only be a short thing though, it all depends. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Some input would be lovely, and if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them.**_

_**I might write out all the messages later.**_

_**(For those who were Curious)**_

_**The total message tally was**_

_**Maddeline and Matthew(Fem!Canada, and Canada): Four**_

_**Amelia and Alfred(Fem!America and America): Three**_

_**Francis(France): Three**_

_**Gilbert(Prussia): Two**_

_**Antonio(Spain): Five**_

_**Lovino( ): Two-not including Feliciano.**_

_**Feliciano( ): Two-including the one with Lovino.**_

_**Julchen and Isabelle(Fem!Prussia and Fem!Spain): Four**_

_**Monica(Fem!Germany): One**_

_**Roderich(Austria): One**_

_**I'm also considering taking requests for Nyotalia x Hetalia oneshots and such. Should I?**_

_**I just realized I'm asking you a lot of questions. Terribly sorry, Just...Enjoy? This is the first actual story I'm writing so, I guess I have no clue what to put here. Unti next time, aurevoir~**_

_**P.S: I do not own Hetalia, Nyotalia, nor do I speak French. **_


	3. Nerves

Another week had passed, and Francoise was still contemplating what to do. While she had attended the meeting and attempted assuring everyone that she'd been fine, her mind had been busy elsewhere. It had been focused on this day, the day she was supposed to go meet Roderich and find out what he had meant with that phone mesage.

As she pressed play on the answering machine, the woman ran a hand through her slightly damp hair and glanced in the mirror. Funny, she almost looked like she had before the divorce. If it wasn't for the paler in her cheeks nobody would have guessed that for the past two weeks she had been a wreck. That for the past two weeks this woman had been pouring over papers and documents, rules and books, just trying to keep herself as sane as possible.

That she had been on a pursuit of happiness.

The Austrians voice rang in her ears, and she placed her hair in it's signature bun. Only a few more hours and then whatever knowledge the male had to share with her would be in reach. With her heart wildly beating against her chest, she applied a light coat of make up-not a lot. Just enough so that she was presentable. The last thing she had to do was put on some clothes, and once the message ended she walked straight into her closet.

Her towel dropped to the floor, and she slipped into a black sweater and a red skirt. Francoise deemed it casual enough for this meeting, after all, Roderich was one of the few people who ever paid attention to what she wore. "_What did I miss?" _she mumbled to herself, before slipping on a pair of black pumps and grabbing her keys from the bowl as she walked towards the door. There were only so many angles one could look at with paperwork, and she was positive that she'd exhausted them all.

Almost as an after thought, she swiped all of the paper from her desk into a briefcase. 'It my be important' she reasoned with herself, before finally being on her way. Due to the importance of the information she'd be given, for once she actually left fairly early. If it didn't have to do with the man she loved, well she wouldn't have bothered being on time. However it was important she stay on the mans' good side, and that meant sacrificing some of her time she'd normally spend moping.

So while she made her way towards the cafe they'd agreed to meet at, she felt jittery. Her hands were constantly tapping the steering wheel, and she pulled up next to the all too familiar cafe. It brought a smile to her face, remembering the numerous dates she'd gone on that had ended up at this very cafe, and for a moment-just a moment-she let herself get distracted.

Distracted by happier times and numerous lovers, along with all the times she'd simply gone there to relax. It seemed fitting that one of the largest moments in her life would happen here, and she smiled as she walked inside. 'Funny, that Roderich would decide to meet here' she thought to herself, before taking a seat at the table they once shared twice a week.

However that tradition had fallen apart, and now it was rare they met up to spend some time together as friends. It was only a few moments before the bells above the door chorused, anouncing someones' entrance. The familiar brunette appeared, and Francoise felt the butterflies return to her stomach as he sat down across from her. "Guten tag, Francoise."

"Bonjour Roddy" she replied, offering a smile as the waitress left them with two menus. He quirked an eyebrow at her, pursing his lips at the nickname. It was never one of his favourites if he was being honest with her, but due to their unique situation...Just this once he'd let it slide. Only for her though. "You've been spending too much time with him" he substituted, changing the subject as he began browsing the menu.

Of course she knew what 'him' the man in front of her was reffering to, and it made her laugh. The first time in a week, she laughed actually meaning it. "I haven't seen Gilbert in awhile, cher" she stated, a smile making it's way onto her delicate features as it had a habit of doing when her companions were mentioned.

"Mmhmm, sure you haven't" Roderich stated, rolling his eyes at the woman. Although, he had to admit. It was nice to know that she hadn't completely lost her sense of humour with the current divorce. He'd been there through most of them, but rarely did they make her go to such extremes. He wouldn't admit it, but sometimes she crossed his mind. Not in the manner she used to, but she just appeared.

It was for that reason he was going to help her now. He could see by her expression that she was just exchanging pleasantries at this point, and as much as he wanted to spend time with his old friend, there was a reason he was here. When she scoffed at his reply, the waitress came back and took note of what they wanted to drink. They decided against eating, seeing as it would probably be a brief meeting.

And with that, Francoise looked at him. Her large indigo eyes somewhat pleading with him to tell her what he knew, all without saying a word. A sigh left his lips, and he took a sip of his drink. "Straight to business, I take it?" It was phrased as a question however he needed no answer. Just that look on her face was enough.

"Did you two sign your country names, or your human names?" The question took her by surprise, and she had to place her briefcase in her lap to check. After some rummaging she took out the divorce papers, and wasn't sure how she felt about this. "We signed our country names," she replied, looking up at him with confusion written on her expression. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Oh my dearest I am so sorry this is so late! Whenever I tried writing it the laptop would shut down, and I almost had it finished twice before this time!

Oh well, better late than never. I'll try to finish the next chapter before we hit the 8 month hiatus this time-/Note: Requests being accepted and your input is always more than welcome!


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